A Court of Smoke and Shadows
by AceQueenJack
Summary: Amarantha has been resurrected, destroying Veralis and the Courts in her quest for revenge. But Feyre and the Inner Circle escape to a new world. With Feyre incapacitated, they find themselves lost in a forgotten land. But will they find friends in Erilea? Or foes?
1. Chapter 1

A Court of Smoke and Shadows

Chapter 1

The portal to the other world ripped Feyre's magic apart, but she couldn't let her family die. When Amarantha struck, she took the Night Court by surprise, destroying Veralis and it's people. The Inner Circle managed to escape, but it had come at a great cost.

Now they were lost, lost in a new world, with no knowledge of the people that lived there. This was what was running through Feyre's mind as she began to slip into unconsciousness, the bodies of her family beginning to stir. She didn't know if she would wake up this time. Didn't know what the leap had destroyed in her body. She sent a thought to Rhys, hoping that as she fell into the recesses of her mind, that he would hear it, and understand.

_We are not safe. _

Rhysand

I heard the thought my mate sent me, heard the pain in her internal voice. She had sacrificed herself to get them away from Amarantha's clutches. I jolted awake, power coursing once more through my veins, and I held her, her beautiful eyes shutting. I searched down the bond, making sure I could find her. I sighed in relief, alive, but in need of medical attention. I set up a bed of snow and laid her head upon it. Only then did I get up and begin to shake the others awake. Mor was the first to shake the sleep from her eyes.

"By gods, wherein the hell are we?"

"I don't know, we're definitely no longer in Prythian. I think Feyre would be too smart to spend herself entirely, then take us to a place where Amarantha could find us easily. And right now, all of Prythian is under her control."

"And Feyre?"

I glanced to where she laid behind me, covered in my jacket. I was cold, but I would survive. She might not. Mor gasped and scrambled to her side.

"You left her in the snow?" She asked accusingly

"I had no other choice. We don't know where we are and I needed to wake you guys up! Speaking of which, Cassian!"

Cassian was sitting up now, staring groggily at me.

"Wha?"

"Take Az and scout around, make sure that there's no one around us. I want to make sure that we're alone."

Cassian walked to his brother, all traces of tiredness gone from his face. He picked up a twig and snapped it in half next to Az's ear. Immediately the shadow singer was up and alert taking in his surroundings. Cass grasped his shoulder and they took off into the sky, sending a rush of wind behind them. Amren, awakened by the rush of wings sat up and gazed with silver eyes at their surroundings. She shrugged and went to sit on a nearby log taking a stick and picking her nails with it. I walked back to my mate and shrugged my last layer of clothing off, covering her with the soft fabric of my tunic, it wasn't much, but it would have to do. I gave a grim smile when some of the colors returned to her face.

Cass and Az swooped back down into the clearing and reported. Well, Cass reported, Az just stood there, nodding along.

"Nothing in the immediate area, though we flew out a few miles and found a fort. We didn't want to risk being seen, so we headed back. We don't want to risk a fire by any means."

"I agree if whoever lives in that fort finds out we're here, we could be in a big deal of trouble."

Mor interjected, "Now that we have that settled, can we get some sleep? I'm tired, and seeing as we don't have any food…" She trailed off, waving her arms for emphasis.

Cassian snickered, "You act as though we didn't just wake up."

"You want to start something, Cass?" She bristled.

Cass put his arms up in surrender, "Not unless you want to feel the humiliation of being beat."

Mor hopped down from the rock she was relaxing on, growling.

I stepped in between them. "Focus people, Mor's right, we don't have any food, which means tomorrow we need to send someone out to get some. In the meantime, let's get some rest before we have to move tomorrow. I'll take first watch."

My friends all murmured in agreement, even Amren.

I watched as my family fell asleep around me, and curled my body around my mate offering her my body heat in addition to the layers. I watched the night, thoughts of home and Veralis plaguing my mind. If we had done better, if _I_ had done better, we might not be in this predicament, we might be safe.

An eagle flew overhead.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Rowan

I'd seen the strange group while out flying. They looked like fae, but their ears were not all pointy, and their teeth, from what I can tell, were just normal. The males' wings were anything but ordinary. They were leathery, like a bat's, and they were strong, powerful. The males looked extremely similar, though from what I could tell the male with the violet eyes was the one in charge. His mate, I assumed was the one that lay in a bed of snow, most of the violet-eyed male's clothing wrapped around her. The other female, the blond one, seemed to be close with the unconscious one. But the third one, the one with the silver eyes, radiated power and something hidden beneath a prison of flesh and bone. I turned and flew back to the fort where we had stopped at on our way back to Orynth.

Aelin

I was sitting in my throne, hearing out my people's troubles when Rowan flew in. I dismissed the line immediately.

"Sorry, but you are dismissed for today if you have any serious complaints I suggest you find me in here tomorrow, good day."

Rowan waited for them to leave before he stepped forward and wrapped me in a kiss.

"Hello, Fireheart," He breathed in between kisses, "I have something to tell you."

I sighed and leaned back against my throne.

"What is it?"

"I spotted a strange group of creatures a few miles south of here. They looked like they were protecting something in the middle, a female fae, I believe."

"Fae?"

"Yes, two of the females and one of the males were definitely fae and the third female, the one with the silver eyes, was something other. And all of the males had wings. We'll send a party out tomorrow, we need to make sure that they're not a threat to us, or whatever they're protecting isn't either."

Mor

I woke up at the first shake of my shoulders. At first, I was confused about where we were. But then the events of yesterday came rolling back into my brain. I shivered, shaking the rest of the sleep from my eyes. Rhys glanced at me from where he was curled around Feyre, large black bags shining under his eyes.

"Either you've taken up sleep fighting, or you didn't wake anybody up to take watch last night," I said sarcastically.

"I wanted everybody to be at full strength in the morning."

"And what about you? What about your strength, sure we're not all-powerful like you-" Amren cut me off, "I beg to differ!"

"Yes, well, we're not all-powerful like you and Amren, but we can certainly stay awake for a couple of hours and give a shout if something's coming. You don't have to do everything by yourself."

"I wholeheartedly agree!" Cassian boomed, "What if we were attacked? And you had fallen asleep because you were up all night! What then?"

"Alright, alright, I'm sorry, I won't do it again."

"You'd better not!" I said menacingly.

A few hours later…

Mor

We had collected berries from the forest around us, though we weren't sure if they were safe. I was about to put one in my mouth when I heard a voice behind me.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," the voice growled, "That's night lock, and unless you want to die before we get to capture you, put the berries down.

We were on our feet in a manner of seconds, facing the strangers that sought to capture us. Iron shackles clanked in the human's hands, similar chains falling behind them. The tall, white-haired brute was either fae or one of the lesser faeries. He was standing protectively in front of the one who spoke, and the stench that came off the two of them strongly suggested a mating bond between them. The female who spoke radiated her own sort of power, but the way the male stood in front showed me that though she had control of it, she hadn't had enough experience with it to truly understand it. I didn't look closely at the others, as the two in front were obviously in charge. Rhys' voice sounded in my head, echoing through my skull in such a way that I knew a similar message was sent to the rest of the group.

_With your lives._ His voice rang, _With our lives_.

I knew what he meant without an explanation. We were to protect Feyre with our lives, even Amren. But though we were strong, we were drained. With no food and our magic nearly gone, this would be a losing battle. They outnumbered us, but with no other option, we charged forward. United in life, united in death.


End file.
